Books from the library of Siegfried Sassoon

The above monogram was pasted inside the front cover of all the books from Sassoon’s library that were auctioned off by Sotheby’s in 1991. It was added as proof of provenance so that people could see they were genuinely bought at the sale. I have indicated below which books have the monogram.

It would appear that these books were presented to Sassoon by their authors at various times.

From Vivian de Sola Pinto

The little book below is very interesting as it was presented to Sassoon by Vivian de Sola Pinto who was his second in command while they served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in France during the First World War. He was know as ‘Velmore’ in the Sherston Memoirs. The book is inscribed: “To Siegfried Sassoon from Vivian de Sola Pinto S. Hilaire July 1918.”

The village of St. Hilaire was part of the front line during 1918. There is no Monogram.

Books belonging to Hester Gatty

Siegfried Sassoon married Hester Gatty and they had one son, George. These books belonged to Hester but do not carry the Sotheby’s monogram. The inscription below reads:

“Hester Gatty from Mummy October 1909.”

The book below is entitled “Ventures in Verse by Members of the Scratch Society.” This seems to have been a group of quite well-off but amateur poets and story writers who formed this society and occasionally got their work in to print. Hester Gatty was a member of the society and she has three poems in the book, “From the Hebrides,” “Tired” and “Moon-Beam.” The inscription reads:

“Hester Gatty 1924.”

The book below is entitled “Old English Love Songs and Madrigals.” The inscription reads:

“Hester Gatty 1926”

The book below is entitled “Collected Poems of Edith Sitwell.” The book, which has an errata slip pasted in, must have been a review copy as the signature is 1929 and the publisher’s date is 1930. The inscription reads:

 “Hester Gatty 1929”

Dr. Sheppard’s Peace Demonstration Programme

Dr. Sheppard’s Peace Demonstration Programme - The programme above belonged to Siegfried Sassoon, the Sotheby’s proof of provenance monogram at the bottom left hand corner in the centre image above proves this to be the case.

This demonstration took place at the Royal Albert Hall, 14th July 1935. It was organised by the Rev. H.R.L. Sheppard, the Canon and Precentor of St. Paul’s Cathedral and one of the Chaplains to His Majesty King George V. This was a single fold programme, page 3 being four hymns to be sung during the meeting. The cover picture is by Arthur Wragg and shows a cenotaph encasing a stricken soldier and dripping with blood. This was produced as a large poster but was banned from the London Underground Stations at the time because it was “too gruesome.”

The programme is subtitled:

 “Weep not for me but for yourselves,”

Inside on page 2 is the statement:

 “I renounce War and never again, directly or indirectly, will I support or sanction another.”

There were four speakers at the demonstration, Siegfried Sassoon’s contribution was to read extracts from his war poems. The following descriptions appear on page 4:

• Dr. Maude Royden, C.H. D.D. Joint founder of the Guildhouse and a Pacifist during the war. Authoress of many works of a social and religious character. Lecturer and “the greatest woman preacher of our time.”
• Mr. Edmund Blunden, M.C. M.A. F.R.S.L. Poet and author. Served as an Infantry Officer during the last war and wrote “Undertones of War.” Formerly Professor of English Literature, Tokio University.
• Mr Siegfried Sassoon, M.C. Poet and Author. Hawthornden Prize. Served as an Infantry Officer during the last war. Wrote “Memoirs of an Infantry Officer.”
• Brig.-General F. P. Crozier, C.B. C.M.G. D.S.O. Croix de Guerre. Served in South African War and the last War and other Wars as an Infantry Officer and a Commander. Sometime Inspector-General of the Lithuanian Army and Commandant of the Police in Ireland during the Insurrection. Author of “A Brass Hat in No Man’s Land” and other war books.